Distrust.

Chapter 49: Distrust.

'I don't like his face.' Kalon thought to himself as he looked up at the man that Roah had come to see. His long blond hair drooped down to his shoulders, and his light blue eyes glimmered in the specs of sunlight outside the window as Kalon looked up at him.

The man glanced down at Kalon once again while still trying to look for the similarities between him and Roah while thinking that he might be her son or younger brother, but he came up blank as they didn't look anything alike.

"So who's the brat?" The man asked with a grin as he noticed Kalon staring at him.

'Who's a brat? I will show you a brat in a minute, old man.' Kalon thought, not daring to actually say anything since he had seen him take a powerful slap from Roah and then get up as though nothing had happened. Although he didn't like the look of the man Roah had met with, Kalon couldn't deny that he was a lot tougher than himself.

"The brat? Don't be rude, Igris. It's the first time you have met, and you are already calling him names. You haven't changed at all, have you?" Roah said with frustration in her voice. She had come to speak with the blond-haired man known as Igris to ask him for a favour, yet she felt as though it would be better to leave, but just as she was about to take Kalon's hand and leave, another voice called out.

"Oh my, Is that you, Roah?" A woman called out as Roah grabbed the hilt of the sword and was just about to lift it into the air.

"Aria?!" Roah exclaimed excitedly before turning her head to see a woman in a white dress with a slight bulge in her stomach.

"Woah, So that's why Igris is acting so childishly. He's upset that he won't be the child of the family anymore." Roah laughed as she saw Aria holding her stomach with a smile.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. He has been throwing a lot of temper tantrums lately. He even drove a few of the regulars out a couple of days ago because he was worried about them being too noisy and waking me up. But enough about me. The great Roah Magnus has come to see us. To what do we owe the pleasure?" The woman asked with a subtle smirk across her lips.

"Oh shut up, you idiot. You are practically family. You don't need to talk to me like this." Roah said before running over and hugging the pregnant woman.

"I'm just pulling your leg a little. But after you became an inquisitor, we have hardly seen you. How is the military treating you?"Aria asked before wrapping her arms around Roah's shoulders.

"It's good. But if you don't mind, I would like to ask you for a favour. I have been sent on an inquisition to a town nearby, but I promised to get the young boy over there enrolled in Frisson Academy. But we got here a little late. I can write a letter of recommendation for him and pay the tuition, but I just need someone to stay with him overnight and accompany him in the morning to take the entrance exam." Roah explained to Aria, not taking into account how Igris would feel about it.

But Aria was such a good person that when she looked over at Kalon to see his gentle and kind facial features, she couldn't stop herself from agreeing to it.

"Of course we can do that. It's no trouble at all. But I have a condition." Aria smiled as she looked at Roah with a menacing grin.

"A condition? What is it?" Roah became both confused and anxious about what she was planning, but she knew that it wouldn't be something that could harm her.

"You have to stay for dinner tonight. It's been so long since someone from our old unit has come to visit. And it would give the boy some time to warm up to us instead of just leaving him here with strangers." Aria smiled and waved her hand towards Kalon, but he simply turned his head away out of distrust for her.

"Just as I thought. You picked up a stray, didn't you? He looks clueless about life, and I can feel his nervousness from here." Aria's ears began to glow a light blue colour as she looked at Kalon before turning her attention back to Roah.

"Your perception still surprises me no matter how many times I see it. But yeah, I think you're right. I can't just leave him here with strangers and expect him to trust you. Especially after what happened to him." Roah frowned slightly before turning her head when she heard Kalon say something.

"Where did you come from, brat? Roah doesn't take a liking to strangers, so you must have done something pretty impressive to get her to bring you here." Iris leaned over the bar and put his hand on Kalon's head to ruffle his hair.

"Leave me alone." Kalon snapped and pushed his arm away. Iris stopped for a moment before smiling.

"Oh, you're a feisty one, aren't you. No wonder she thought that Frisson Academy would be a good fit for you." Iris laughed before sticking his hand out once again to ruffle Kalon's hair.

"Kalon, don't hold back. If he is bothering you, then just hit him with one of those punches from the technique I taught you last night." Roah called out.

Kalon heard what she had said and then looked down at his hand as Igris reached out towards him. A blue glow emerged from his forearm and travelled to his wrist.

"I said leave me alone!" Kalon shouted while swinging his arm up to push Igris's away, but as he did so, he moved the remaining Qi into the back of his hand and pushed his arm away.

A breath of hot air shot through the tavern as Kalon's hand struck Igris and pushed him across the room. Iris managed to remain standing as his feet slid across the wooden floor, but the force from Kalon's hand was still enough to push him back a few feet.

The room fell silent as everyone put down their drinks and the tension began to rise as Igris stood still with a furious look on his face. Many of the people were preparing to leave just in case a fight broke out, and others remained seated to see what would happen.

But that all changed as Igris opened his mouth once again.

"I- I wasn't expecting that. Wow, you're strong for a little runt." Iris laughed before ruffling Kalon's hair once again, this time moving so fast that Kalon couldn't even react.